10 Ways to Give Green Gifts

by Cindy Young, in category Green Holidays

The holidays are a time for wasteful spending and for just plain waste.  Help the environment and your wallet by following these simple tips for greening your gifts.

Make your own gifts.  Food is always a well-received option – try cookies, brownies, candy, bread, granola, tea, or hot chocolate.  Or if you are especially handy, you can try making anything from beauty products, such as lip balm, foot scrub or bath soaks, to things like toys, decorations or knit hats.  Find ideas at wholeliving.com, marthastewart.com and familyfun.go.com.
Just say no to toxic gifts from China.  Choose gifts that are handmade, local, sustainable, well-made, and non-toxic.  Local farmers’ markets and craft shows are a great place to shop.  Some great local retail options are Whole Foods, Blue Ridge Eco Shop, The Savvy Sleeper, Feast, C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery, Vivian’s, Alakazam and Shenanigans.
Wrap presents using reused or natural materials, such as newspaper, packing paper, old maps, calendar pages, magazine or phone book pages, old wallpaper, kids’ artwork, grocery bags or leftover/vintage cloth.  Use biodegradable stuffing such as wheat grass, real peanuts, popcorn or reused shredded wrapping paper.
Save used wrapping paper for next year or recycle it.  Old wrapping paper can be recycled into things like party banners, book covers, bookmarks, and packing paper.  See wholeliving.com and marthastewart.com for more ideas.
Spruce up presents using reused or natural materials.  Try layering different papers and adding old beads or buttons, reused ribbons, twine, feathers, candy canes, cinnamon sticks, dried flowers, pinecones, dough ornaments or stamps.
Make gift tags from reused or natural materials.  This is a great way to reuse old holiday cards.  Or get really creative and make gift tags out of salt dough ornaments, cookies or painted leaves.
Give non-material gifts.  In the spirit of cutting down on waste, try giving non-material gifts such as memberships to parks or clubs, iTunes gift cards, tickets to plays, sporting events or concerts, subscriptions to digital magazines, or make a donation to a charity in your recipient’s name.  Check out www.storyofstuff.com for more information on why we should buy less stuff.
Try re-gifting or gift swaps.  Avoid buying new stuff and get rid of some of the unwanted stuff in your home.  Get together with friends and trade unwanted items from your attics.  Or help end the bias against re-gifting.  It may not be new to you but it will be new to them!
Find great used gifts on Freecycle, Craigslist or Ebay.  Rather than fight the holiday crowds at the mall for that blender that you want to buy for your mom, find a lightly-used one online.  Just don’t try to pass it off as new and the effort will be appreciated!
Spend time with your family.  Often, the best (and greenest) gift you can give is to spend time with your family.  Holidays tend to be an overwhelming rush from one task to the next.  Make time for your loved ones and it may end up being the most appreciated gift of all.

1.  Make your own gifts. Food is always a well-received option – try cookies, brownies, candy, bread, granola, tea, or hot chocolate.  Or if you are especially handy, you can try making anything from beauty products, such as lip balm, foot scrub or bath soaks, to things like toys, decorations or knit hats.  Find ideas at marthastewart.com and familyfun.go.com.

homemade DIY granola holiday gift present natural reuse gift wrap green

2.  Just say no to toxic gifts from China. Choose gifts that are handmade, local, sustainable, well-made, and non-toxic.  Local farmers’ markets and craft shows are a great place to shop.  You can try etsy.com for tons of handmade options.  See our list of green toy websites that carry well-made toys created from more natural materials.

3.  Wrap presents using reused or natural materials, such as newspaper, packing paper, old maps, calendar pages, magazine or phone book pages, old wallpaper, kids’ artwork, grocery bags or leftover/vintage cloth.  Use biodegradable stuffing such as wheat grass, real peanuts, popcorn or reused shredded wrapping paper.  Fabric gift bags are a great alternative because they can be reused as gift bags or as shopping bags – find them at etsy.  You can also find wrapping paper made from 100% recycled materials – try Fish Lips Paper Designs, Of the Earth or your local Whole Foods.

4.  Save used wrapping paper for next year or recycle it. Old wrapping paper can be recycled into things like party banners, book covers, bookmarks, and packing paper.  See wholeliving.com and marthastewart.com for more ideas.

5.  Spruce up presents using reused or natural materials. Try layering different papers and adding old beads or buttons, reused ribbons, twine, feathers, candy canes, cinnamon sticks, dried flowers, pinecones, dough ornaments or stamps.

6.  Make gift tags from reused or natural materials. This is a great way to reuse old holiday cards.  Or get really creative and make gift tags out of salt dough ornaments, cookies or painted leaves.

homemade DIY gift present wrapping packaging vintage cloth handkerchief

7.  Give non-material gifts. In the spirit of cutting down on waste, try giving non-material gifts such as memberships to parks or clubs, iTunes gift cards, tickets to plays, sporting events or concerts, subscriptions to digital magazines, or make a donation to a charity in your recipient’s name.  Oxfam America has a great website where you can buy charitable gifts in someone else’s name and then send them a card with the details – the gifts range from things like a dozen chicks to books for kids to vegetable gardens.  Check out www.storyofstuff.com for more information on why we should buy less stuff.

8.  Try re-gifting or gift swaps. Avoid buying new stuff and get rid of some of the unwanted stuff in your home.  Get together with friends and trade unwanted items from your attics.  Or help end the bias against re-gifting.  It may not be new to you but it will be new to them!

9.  Find great used gifts on Freecycle, Craigslist or Ebay. Rather than fight the holiday crowds at the mall for that blender that you want to buy for your mom, find a lightly-used one online.  Just don’t try to pass it off as new and the effort will be appreciated!

10.  Spend time with your friends and family. Often, the best (and greenest) gift you can give is to spend time with your friends and family.  Holidays tend to be an overwhelming rush from one task to the next.  Make time for your loved ones and it may end up being the most appreciated gift of all.

Want to read more about how to have a Green Christmas?

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